Covid-19 has dominated our lives for almost two years. Vaccines have been developed in record time, yet nearly half the world\u2019s population has not received a single dose. What has gone wrong?
Imogen Foulkes is joined in this podcast episode by global health and policy experts.
\u201cHow do you solve this in the longer term? You don\u2019t want to be in this situation when this happens again. This could happen next month, if the wrong variant comes out,\u201d says Bruce Aylward, senior advisor to the director-general at the World Health Organization (WHO).
The new Omicron Covid variant now threatens to undo earlier progress. Do we need a global pandemic treaty?
\u201cWe have not managed to ensure equitable access. We have left decisions to narrow national interests and to commercial decision-making,\u201d says Michelle Childs, head of policy and advocacy at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). \u201cWe need to be optimistic. We must be optimistic. It\u2019s in everyone\u2019s interest to get out of this pandemic,\u201d says Federica Zamatto, a medical coordinator at M\xe9decins Sans Fronti\xe8res (MSF).
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